Wonderful Parts of Life

It's awesome to see how God works. A couple of years ago, I swore I'd never come home. God brought me home. I swore I'd never want to go to work at my church; God has opened the door for me to work for my church full time. True is the Biblical principle: God's ways are higher than our ways. I'm looking forward to the new challenges this year will bring; I'm also looking forward to the opportunities God has yet to open to me. Who knows where I will be this time next year?

God's working....

God's been doing a lot of work in my heart recently; a lot that has to do with life, and my life as a Christian. First, my faith and prayer life are too small. Think about it; we don't have to have faith anymore. Food is everywhere; our needs are met. We rely too much on our own common sense. It's killing our faith. And, without the need for faith, our prayer life falls. We pray 3 seconds a day and wonder why God doesn't work. We pray for a minute, preach for an hour, and wonder why our churches continue to fall and our country is torn up. What a mess. God take me to a place where my faith will grow, and I will have no choice but to fall on my face before you.

Secondly, I've failed the Gospel. I've become just like a lot of other Christians; I believe if I go to church three times a week; do a little visiting and serve in some ministry in the church that I've done my duty. What a lie from the pits of hell. Paul had such a burden for people that he wished himself accursed that they could be saved; he says in I Corinthians that he has made himself a slave for the sake of the Gospel. And I think I've done my part by working with kids one day a week and passing out a couple of tracts. Man, how stupid am I! We live in a world that needs to see Jesus; they need to hear of His love for them, and see a living example of it.

Sometimes I wish God would take me to the place where all that existed was me and Him; where all the distractions were taken away. I've gotta change....

Thoughts on Fire.

First, it has been a while since I've been here. I thoroughly plan to change that. Just want a place to post my thoughts and blatherings. A lot has changed in my life recently. I went from having my entire future planned to having seemingly nothing. I went from having someone in my life that I truly cared about and loved to being alone. I went from having a purpose to really not knowing what is next. God has been doing a lot. I know He does things for a reason; some of those I'm beginning to see. I'm looking forward to what's next.

That having been said; God gave me some thought recently on fire. What does it mean for a Christian or a group of Christians to be "on fire?" Fire to me before has always indicated life...something burning. True, it is something burning, but with fire, most often it involves something being destroyed. Think about it a minute, a house fire, or a car fire. Something is being consumed. Perhaps true fire from Christ in our lives involves something of us being consumed. Perhaps it is something wrong that needs to be purged, or perhaps it is something that stands in the way of Christ's further working in our life. Fire also involves conversion. It's actually the scientific process whereby physical mass is converted into heat energy. Likewise, with fire from Christ, are we not being converted to something greater?

In the Old Testament, fire was used to consume the sacrifices. Fire was used to purify metals. Hmmm, are we really on fire today?

And, what about the source of fire. Fire comes from one of several places. True, it can come from other fire. But, it always has to have a source. Fire comes from either friction or heat. When using a match, it is the friction of the surface vs. the phosphorous of the match that sparks the flame. In a lighter, it is the flint rubbing the striker that provides the ignition to the gas. Fire can come about a third way; intense heat. Scientific studies show that it is possible to apply such intense heat to items that they explode into flame. So, we deduce that all fire comes from intense friction or intense heat.

Some cool things about fire: it provides light. God's fire in the lives of His followers provides light to a darkened world. Fire also spreads. When burning something, wood, leaves, etc., it is always necessary to clear around the pile. Why? To keep the fire contained. True Christian fire will spread; it needs merely to begin. And, fire will always change things. It always leaves things different than it was.

So, are we on fire? Are we willing to experience what it takes to get that way, are we willing to be used of God to start a fire? Are we willing to be consumed? Are we willing to be converted? What will it take for true fire to begin again? History shows that fire has begun for a number of reasons, most of which is intense persecution. What will it take for us to be consumed with a Godly fire that will change and make things different? Am I willing to be the first?

Praise the Lord for His Mercy!

Ain't God good? I've had a great number of setbacks lately in my life; things that just haven't worked out according to my plans. It's rather difficult to deal with too; after all, I've got the things I want to do. I want to get all my bills paid off. I want to buy an awesome engagement ring and get betrothed in a few weeks. I want to get married this year. I want to go to New York next year to begin planting a church. I have noticed a pattern with my statements. The funny thing is, I ain't been gittin' a lot of my wants lately, and I haven't been happy about it.

It all came to the top today when a large sum of money I was expecting was denied from me. I was mad; I was not satisfied or content; I was mad. I was not trusting; I was mad. Then, as usual, God used His Word in my heart.

He brought to mind the story of Job, and a particular verse.

Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

I began to focus on all the Lord has given me. I got out of bed this morning a walked. I awoke this morning and could see; I could heart. I have a place to sleep; I have food to eat. I have clothes to wear; I have a job to work at. I have a wonderful family that cares for me; I have a wonderful girlfriend that is a tremendous blessing to me. It puts things in perspective for me to focus on what I have been blessed with rather than not getting what I want. God forgive my spoiled brattiness.

So, Praise the Lord for His Mercy!!! Praise Him for His blessings; for His patience; for His lovingkindness. Praise Him and thank Him for all He has done for us!! It makes the things we "want" fade into faith and trust.

Brain Dead and Self Aware

Man, life has been rough lately. I have been sick with the flu; my grandmother is in the hospital; bills have piled up; family is going through a rough time. Man, what fun! On top of that, I feel like I'm spinning my wheels with no goals. But, maybe that's the problem.

Do you lose your purpose when you lose your heart, or do you lose your heart when you lose you purpose? Hmmm..... Does heart drive purpose? I believe it does. The which is at the center of us drives every part of our lives; from our thoughts to our actions.

So, what is at the center of me? If my purpose is off, or I don't feel as if I have a purpose anymore, is that which drives my purpose empty?

So, what is at the center of me?

Distractions...

I have come to realize that I have too many distractions in life. I recently have been very contemplative in my life. I've spent a lot of time musing on the future; basically trying to figure out what to do next. This kind of led me into one of those "meaning of life" monologues. The most important thing in our lives in non-negotiable: a relationship with Jesus Christ. You see, without Him in your life, you have no hope of tomorrow, and no means for today.

Logic tells us that that which is most important to us is that which we spend our time on. Hmmmm..... So, watching Food Network for 6 hours a days would tells us what? Just kidding. But, I wonder if my relationship with Jesus Christ has the temporal priority that it should have. I have a great many pulls on my life: work, ministry, personal relationships; most of these are shared by most of you. Then their is the ultimate pull in our lives: ourselves. What? You aren't pulled by yourself? The things you want don't drive you sometimes? They do me. I have noticed lately that my selfish desires seem to be getting the better of me. For instance, should I save money for the future or should I go to China Luck for lunch again? Should I get to church early tonight to fellowship with the Saints or should I be a couch potato for an extra 30 minutes enjoying Good Eats with Alton Brown? Should I get up this morning and spend time with my Heavenly Father or should I sleep an extra half hour or forty five minutes? See, my life is full of so many distractions from my relationship with God; lately I've been struggling with them more than ever.

I believe it is due to the face of decreased accountibility in my life. When in Bible College; it's easy to have a right relationship with God. 75% of everything around you focuses your attention on God's Word and your relationship with and service for God. But, since getting out, it has been easy to allow that focus to drift to the distractions; the vicissitudes of life so to speak; seem to be taking over. So, what to do about it?

Option #1 Get rid of the distractions. I actually thought about this. However, upon searching the Yellow Pages, I was unable to locate a Baptist Monestary. Hmmm. Well, that kills that idea.

Option #2 Discipline ourselves to beat the distractions. Yes, I get to be stoic! But, as I have proved time and time again, "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." My flesh is unable to win due to its weakness. That kills that idea.

Option #3 Discipline myself through the power of God to beat the distractions. Hmmm... How do I do this? How do I come before God and say "Father, I'm not able to beat this on my own...will you beat it for me?" That is hard for us to do. Pride gets in the way; seflishness gets in the way. But, it is the only way.

So, what am I gonna do about the distractions?

Well, my first blathering.

Well, this is my first time here. Hmmm.... what to write. Well, I'm a conservative Christian. I believe the Bible is the infallible, innerrant, inspired Word of God. I believe that Jesus Christ, God the Son, loved me enough to die for me. I am a sinner, and therefore, because I am a sinner, I deserve death in a sinner's hell. But, Jesus paid that price for me. He paid it for you too; all you must do is believe on Him to be saved.

I finished college this year; I will soon be getting married to Rebecca; my college sweetheart. God has called us to New York City to start a work for Him there. I'm a redneck from Alabama, so for me to be called to New York City is indeed itself a paradox. But, the ways of God are mysterious.

I currently work for Sound Solutions in Oxford, AL as the technology associate. I design the website, do the website, and work on a host of other cool projects. I love technical gadgets; particularly dealing with computers/audio/video/etc.... We are a Christian Company which I enjoy.

Other than that, I'm a pretty normal guy. I enjoy video games, sports, movies where stuff blows up; hamburgers, pizza, fishing, and sleeping.

I guess that's about it for the first post. Lord willing, I will have some more mindless drivel for you later. Have a wonderful blessed day. Make God a part of it; if not, what is it worth?